Method and apparatus for managing ownership of virtual property

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for managing ownership of virtual property accessible to users is provided by a computer-implemented system connected to a network. This method and apparatus further comprises maintaining an inventory of virtual properties, managing ownership of virtual properties, and allowing use of virtual properties by corresponding property owners within corresponding network spaces. In particular, virtual properties are purchased from a system by user computers, wherein virtual properties may be accessed by a user and/or sold or traded to other users which may include auction websites

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.09/837,852, filed Apr. 18, 2001, entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FORMANAGING OWNERSHIP OF VIRTUAL PROPERTY,” which claims the benefit ofU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/198,490, filed Apr. 18, 2000,each of which are hereby expressly incorporated by reference in theirentireties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the electronic commerce of virtualproperty. More specifically, this invention pertains to a method andapparatus for conducting electronic business, wherein the merchantmanages use, sale, and ownership of virtual property that permanentlyresides on the merchant's computer system.

2. Description of the Related Art

For many years, the global retail market has been characterized as amarket in which physical products are sold from physical locations. Inrecent years, however, this dynamic has undergone a significant changein response to the increasing popularity of the Internet. It should beappreciated that the Internet is defined here as a collection ofinterconnected (public and/or private) networks linked together by a setof standard protocols (such as TCP/IP and HTTP) to form a global,distributed network. While this term is intended to refer to what is nowcommonly known as the Internet, it is also intended to encompassvariations which may be made in the future, including changes andadditions to existing standard protocols. As a result of the Internet,businesses can now sell their products to a vast number of customersbeyond local boundaries. This form of business transaction is commonlyknown as electronic commerce and will herein be referred to as such.Systems for wide-area networks, such as the Internet, are presentlylimited, however, in the offerings that are made available to businessesand consumers. Present sales systems generally allow for the sale ofphysical goods or services, or for the purchase of a membership toaccess certain information or services.

Furthermore, the rapid growth of digital technology has introduced a newline of products that can be delivered in the form of digitalinformation (e.g., music, paintings, movies, software, etc.). Digitalinformation has a unique characteristic in that it can be copied by theowner an infinite number of times while the owner still retains theoriginal. Music in a compact disc, for example, is simply stored digitalinformation with each binary bit represented as the presence or absenceof a sequence of holes (i.e., depressions that reflect light)appropriately located on the disc. As is generally known in the art,this same sequence can also be downloaded onto a computer. If thiscomputer is equipped with software capable of decoding such sequences,the information represented by this sequence can be readily accessible.Commercial systems are available to purchase and download digitalinformation via the Internet directly into a computing or entertainmentsystem, thereby eliminating the need for physical embodiments of suchproducts (e.g., discs, tapes, etc.).

An alternative to selling digital information is to sell subscriptionsor memberships to sites that supply digital information. Thesemembership sites do not sell ownership of the digital information, butmerely allow access to the content that they display. For many types ofinformation, such as news that only has value for a short period oftime, a membership or subscription provides an attractive solution formany consumers.

Another type of digital information exists that is referred to herein asvirtual property. Unlike the aforementioned forms of digitalinformation, virtual property has no counterpart in the physical worldand exists only within the virtual realm. For example, it is known inthe art to provide a multi-player game managed by a server operating onthe Internet. The players would access the game through their computingdevices connected to the Internet. Within the context of the game,players may create a persona or character that has certaincharacteristics strengths, and capabilities. Players may also obtaincertain objects (e.g., keys, weapons, etc.) in the course of the game.These character attributes and objects have no counterpart in thephysical world and only have value in the virtual world associated withthe game. Although there is some intrinsic value for these characterattributes and objects, there is no market for such virtual property andhence no way to transfer ownership or use.

In general, two issues arise when dealing with virtual property. First,a business must concern itself with the unauthorized copying of theseproperties. By sending a copy of the virtual property to the buyer orsubscriber, the merchant loses control of the data, making possible theduplication and distribution of illegal copies of the property, forwhich the merchant is not compensated. Second, a business is limited toselling its virtual properties to those consumers with computingresources capable of decoding different types of digital data andcapable of storing this data. With the increasing popularity of themobile workstation (with limited computing resources), this issuebecomes even more prevalent.

Currently, no system exists that allows the purchase and ownership ofproperty rights that are entirely digital in nature and that have novalue outside of the digital environment in which they exist.Furthermore, no system exists where such properties are maintained bythe merchant and are not downloaded to the buyer's computer. It wouldthus be advantageous to implement a virtual marketplace where thesevirtual property rights can be transferred, used, and managed requiringminimal computing resources from the consumer and where merchants areprotected from the unauthorized duplication of their virtual properties.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed towards a method and apparatus forimplementing a virtual marketplace and more particularly towardsmanaging ownership of virtual property.

In an embodiment of the invention, a method and apparatus for managingownership of virtual property accessible to users is provided by acomputer-implemented system connected to a network. This method andapparatus further comprises maintaining an inventory of virtualproperties, managing ownership of virtual properties, and allowing useof virtual properties by corresponding property owners withincorresponding network spaces. In particular, virtual properties arepurchased from a merchant computer system by user computers, whereinthese virtual properties may be accessed by a user and/or sold or tradedto other users which may include auction websites.

A more complete understanding of a method and apparatus for managingownership of virtual property will be afforded to those skilled in theart, as well as a realization of additional advantages and objectsthereof, by a consideration of the following detailed description of thepreferred embodiment. Reference will be made to the appended sheets ofdrawings which will first be described briefly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram demonstrating a preferred embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart outlining the steps for making a purchase ofvirtual property according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart outlining the steps for selling or trading ofvirtual property according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart outlining the steps for accessing virtualproperty according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention is directed towards a method and apparatus formanaging ownership of virtual property. In particular, this inventionfulfills the need for a virtual marketplace where the use of virtualproperty requires minimal computing resources from the consumer andwhere merchants are protected from the unauthorized duplication of theirvirtual properties. As a result, this invention enables businesses toprovide a service where virtual properties can be purchased, sold,traded, or accessed without compromising the computing resources of theuser computer. In the detailed description that follows, it should beappreciated that like element numerals are used to describe likeelements illustrated in one or more figures.

Referring first to FIG. 1, a block diagram is illustrated of a wide areanetwork employing a method and apparatus according to an embodiment ofthe invention. It is anticipated that the present invention operateswith a plurality of computers which are coupled together on a wide areanetwork, such as the Internet 20, or other communications network. FIG.1 depicts such a network which includes a merchant computer system 10that communicates with prospective users 30 and 40, auction websites 50,and other merchant computer systems 60 via the Internet 20. It should beappreciated that user computers 30 and 40 may be any type of computingdevice that allows a user to interactively browse websites, such as apersonal computer (PC) that includes a Web browser 32 and 42 (e.g.,Microsoft Internet Explorer™ or Netscape Communicator™). Suitable usercomputers 30, 40 equipped with browsers 32, 42 are available in manyconfigurations, including handheld devices (e.g., PalmPilot™), personalcomputers (PC), laptop computers, workstations, television set-topdevices, multi-functional cellular phones, and so forth.

In a preferred embodiment, a merchant computer system 10 is furthercomprised of an applications processor 11, a search engine 12, a webserver 13, a business database 14, and an HTML (Hyper-Text MarkupLanguage) documents database 15. As illustrated, merchant computersystem 10 is internally connected such that the applications processor11 directly communicates with both the search engine 12 and the Webserver 13. Furthermore, search engine 12 is shown to be connected tobusiness database 14, while server 13 is shown to be connected to HTMLdocuments database 15. It should be noted that other merchant computersystems 60 are also shown in FIG. 1. As illustrated, these systems 60have a similar structure to the structure described for merchantcomputer system 10.

It should be appreciated that search engines 12 and 62 typicallyincorporate a database engine, such as a SQL Server™ engine fromMicrosoft Corporation or Oracle™ database engine, as part of theirarchitecture. Search engines typically perform searches by operating ona string of characters, known as a “query string.” A query string iscoded according to a set of rules determined by the database engineand/or a user interface between the database engine and the user. Asused herein, a “query is broader than a “query string,” denoting boththe query string and the search logic represented by the query string,whereas “query string” refers only to a string of characters, symbols,or codes used to define a query.

It should be further appreciated that Web servers 13, 63 respectivelyaccess a plurality of Web pages, distributable applications, and otherelectronic files containing information of various types stored in HTMLdocuments database 15, 65. As a result, Web pages may be viewed onvarious user computers 30, 40; for example, a particular Web page orother electronic file may be viewed through a suitable applicationprogram residing on a user computer 30, 40, such as a browser 32, 42, orby a distributable application provided to the user computer 30, 40, byWeb server 13, 63 respectively. It should be appreciated that manydifferent user computers, many different Web servers, and many differentsearch servers of various types may be communicating with each other atthe same time.

As is generally known in the art, a user identifies a Web page that isdesired to be viewed at the user computer 30, 40 by communicating anHTTP (Hyper-Text Transport Protocol) request from the browserapplication 32, 42. The HTTP request includes the Uniform ResourceLocator (URL) of the desired Web page, which may correspond to an HTMLdocument stored in the merchant's HTML document database 15, 65. TheHTTP request is routed to the merchant's Web server 13, 63, via theInternet 20. The Web server 13, 63 then retrieves the HTML documentidentified by the URL, and communicates the HTML document across theInternet 20 to the browser application 32, 42. The HTML document may becommunicated in the form of plural message packets as defined bystandard protocols, such as the Transport Control Protocol/InternetProtocol (TCP/IP).

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, virtual properties areeither purchased, sold, traded, or accessed by a user 30 from anylocation that has the ability to connect with the merchant computersystem 10. As a result, management of these properties are not limitedto the location from which the merchandise has been ordered. When makinga purchase, users 30 select virtual properties from a merchant'sdatabase 14 using a search engine 12. Once this property is purchased,that property can be freely accessed, sold, or traded by the user 30through the merchant's website. It should, however, be appreciated thatthe operation and maintenance of such virtual property remains theresponsibility of the merchant. In this respect, it should be furtherunderstood that the actual operation of these properties are performedwithin the computer system 10 of the merchant, and in particular throughthe system's application processor 11.

In FIG. 2, a flow chart illustrating the steps for making a purchaseaccording to an embodiment of the invention is shown. The purchasingprocedure begins at step 100 and continues with the prospective user 30visiting the merchant's website at step 105. At step 110, the merchantcomputer system 10 then determines whether the prospective user 30 has aregistered account. If the prospective user 30 does indeed have anexisting account, the user 30 logs into the system 10 at step 125;otherwise, the user 30 registers for an account at step 115, receivesaccount information (e.g., username, password, etc.) at step 120, andfinally logs into the system 10 at step 125. Once the user 30 is loggedinto the system 10, a portfolio illustrating the user's 30 virtualproperties maintained with the merchant is displayed at step 130. Theuser 30 is then permitted to search through the merchant's database 14using a search engine 12 at step 135. At step 140, the desired virtualproperty is then selected by the user 30.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, all virtual propertiesdisplayed to the user 30 from the merchant's database 14 are eitherdirectly available from the current merchant or indirectly availablethrough another merchant. As a result, the merchant computer system 10must determine whether the selected property is currently availablewithin its own inventory at step 145. If the merchant has this propertyreadily available, then the procedure continues with a charge beingapplied to the user's 30 credit card at step 155; otherwise, themerchant computer system 10 finds other merchants with the desiredproperty at step 146 and lists them to the user 30. Once this list ofother merchants is displayed at step 146, the user 30 selects which ofthese other merchants it wants to purchase the desired property from atstep 148.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the other merchantsdisplayed to the user 30 may be “partners” with the current merchant.Here, a partner is defined as a merchant with a pre-existing arrangementto accept invoice orders directly from the computer system 10 of thecurrent merchant. Therefore, after the user 30 selects which of theother merchants it wants to purchase the desired property from at step148, the merchant computer system 10 must determine whether the selectedmerchant is a partner at step 150. If it is determined that thisparticular merchant is indeed a partner at step 150, the procedurecontinues with a charge being applied to the user's 30 credit card atstep 155; otherwise, the user 30 is hyper-linked to the other merchant'scomputer system 60 at step 105 where the described procedure is repeatedfrom within the computer system 60 of the other merchant.

If sufficient funds are available at step 155, the order is executed atstep 180; otherwise, the user 30 is asked to use an alternate creditcard at step 160. If the user 30 chooses to enter an alternate creditcard at step 160, the procedure returns to step 155 where these fundsare now charged to the alternate credit card; otherwise, the order iscancelled at step 165. After the order is cancelled at step 165, theuser 30 is asked if it wants to continue with the current session. Ifthe user 30 decides to continue at step 170, then the procedure returnsto step 130 where the user 30 is again displayed a personalizedportfolio of its virtual properties with that particular merchant;otherwise, the session is ended at step 175. However, if sufficientfunds are indeed available at step 155 and the order is executed at step180, then the procedure continues with an update of the user's 30portfolio at step 185. Finally, at step 190, a confirmation message issent to the user 30 regarding the execution of this order.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, users 30 can openly sell ortrade their virtual properties via the Internet 20. In FIG. 3, a flowchart describing this procedure is shown. This procedure begins at step200 and continues with the user 30 logging into the merchant computersystem 10 at step 205. Once the user 30 is logged into the system 10, aportfolio illustrating the user's 30 virtual properties with themerchant is displayed at step 210. The user 30 then selects the desiredvirtual property it intends to sell/trade at step 215. Next, the user 30enters information regarding the intended buyer/trader of the selectedproperty at step 220. In a preferred embodiment, it should beappreciated that a plurality of auction websites 50, directly linked tothe merchant computer system 10, can all be potential buyers/traders ofthe user's 30 selected property. As a result, the user 30 has the optionof choosing a buyer/trader from these auction websites 50 in addition toother specific users 40 at step 220.

Once the user 30 has entered all the required buyer/trader informationat step 220, the merchant computer system 10 must determine whether thepotential buyer/trader is a new user to the system 10 at step 225. Ifthe potential buyer/trader is indeed a new user, the merchant computersystem 10 generates a new account for the user at step 230, sends thisaccount information to the new user at step 235, and posts thesale/trade via the Internet 20 at step 240; otherwise, the system 10bypasses steps 230 and 235 and proceeds directly to step 240.

It should be appreciated that the “posting” of a sale/trade at step 240entails communicating all conditions of the sale/trade with thepotential buyer/trader. Such conditions will include details such theprice of the particular sale or the property for which the desiredproperty is going to be traded for. The procedure then continues once aresponse is received from the potential buyer/trader regarding theseconditions at step 245. If the transaction is confirmed by the potentialbuyer/trader at step 245, then the transaction is executed at step 260;otherwise, the transaction is cancelled at step 250 and a cancellationmessage is sent to the user 30 at step 255. After a transaction isexecuted at step 260, the merchant computer system 10 must update itsrecords to reflect this transaction at step 265. Finally, a confirmationmessage regarding this transaction is sent to both the user 30 and thebuyer/trader at step 270.

Once a user 30 has acquired a virtual property, either through apurchase or a trade, that property may be freely accessed by the user 30from the merchant computer system 10. In FIG. 4, a flow chartillustrating the steps for accessing these properties according to anembodiment of the invention is shown. This procedure begins at step 300and continues with the user 30 logging into the merchant computer system10 at step 305. Once the user 30 is logged into the system 10, aportfolio illustrating the user's 30 virtual properties managed by themerchant is displayed at step 310. The user 30 then selects the desiredproperty it intends to access at step 315.

Similar to the procedure for making a purchase, all virtual propertiesdisplayed to the user 30 from the merchant's database 14 are eitherdirectly accessible from the current merchant or indirectly accessiblethrough another merchant. As a result, the merchant computer system 10must determine whether the selected property resides within its owninventory at step 320. If this property does indeed reside within themerchant's own inventory, then the procedure continues with the propertybeing accessed at step 330; otherwise, the merchant computer system 10determines whether the remote location of the desired property resideson a partner computer system 60 at step 325.

It should be appreciated that, although a particular property, remotelylocated on a partner's computer system 60, can be accessed directly fromthe current merchant's computer system 10, the physical location of thisparticular property remains within the partner's computer system 60.Therefore, if it is determined that a particular merchant is indeed apartner at step 325, the procedure continues with the desired propertybeing accessed from the remote merchant's computer system 60 via thecurrent merchant's computer system 10 at step 330; otherwise, the user30 is hyper-linked to the other merchant's computer system 60 at step305 where the described procedure is repeated from within the computersystem 60 of the other merchant.

Within the context of the aforementioned flow charts, it should beappreciated that a plurality of embodiments describing several differenttypes of virtual properties can be given. In one such embodiment, amerchant could sell software applications that are maintained andoperated on the merchant computer system 10 via the Internet 20. Once auser purchases the software, that user would then be able to launch andrun the software through their portfolio from any computer system 30with a browser applications 32. In this type of embodiment, it isunderstood that the desired software must be implemented with aprogramming language compatible with remote access (e.g., Java).

Since the user is accessing the desired software remotely through itsconnection with the merchant computer system 10, there is never a needto download this software onto the user's computer 30. As a result, theuser will have no ability to copy the software. If the softwaregenerates files, those files could be stored on either the user'scomputer 30, the merchant's computer 10, or a third party's computerdepending on the agreement at the time of purchase. Unlike applicationservice providers (ASPs) that sell subscriptions or memberships to sitesthat provide these services, this invention enables users to actuallyown these virtual software properties and manage them accordingly.

By way of example, a user could purchase access to a word-processingprogram from a software merchant. The user may then have an icon andmanual for said software within their portfolio with that merchant.Whenever the user wants to use this program, it would simply log intothe merchant computer system 10 and access the desired software. Thesoftware would then open within their browser 32 enabling the user toemploy its various features directly from the merchant computer system10. However, if the owner of this word-processing program ever wanted tosell or trade this property, this transaction would be easily made usingthe flow chart described in FIG. 3. It should be appreciated that once auser relinquishes ownership of this software, the user also relinquishesall access rights it previously had to that particular software. The newowner of the software then has all access rights to the software.

In another embodiment, this invention may be used by a merchant ofmultiplayer Internet games. In an adventure game, for example, acharacter may find an object, which is a very rare object in thisadventure game. Within the game context, this character “owns” thisobject which is in itself a type of virtual property. Namely, thisobject is intangible and physically non-existent in the real world, butit still may have value to someone in the real world who would like toparticipate in this adventure game.

In particular, a participant in this game may wish to trade one of itsvirtual properties (e.g., a weapon, key, etc.) for this object or simplypurchase the object from its owner (i.e., the player who found it). Oncea player owns a particular virtual property, that property is includedin that player's portfolio until the end of the game or until it is soldor traded (although some embodiments may include games where certainvirtual properties can be carried over into the next game, another typeof game, or some variant thereof). It should also be appreciated that aparticular game may be operating on a server not maintained by themerchant managing the aforementioned virtual properties. In such cases,there needs to be communication between the merchant and the game serverto verify ownership of these virtual properties and authority to usethem in the game. It should be further appreciated that thisverification step may be implemented within step 325 of the flow chartillustrated in FIG. 4 if needed.

In another embodiment, digital trading cards containing a variety ofimages and information regarding individual cards can be purchased,sold, traded, or accessed via the Internet. Here, it is understood thatalthough these digital trading cards are analogous to physical tradingcards which are well known (such trading cards are particularly commonin the sports industry), digital trading cards are unique in that theyexist only within the virtual realm. In the physical world, trading cardmerchants typically produce a limited number of each trading card whichare sold in “packs” containing a certain number of randomly selectedtrading cards.

If packs of cards are offered in an embodiment, a merchant could offersets of numerous unknown cards for sale, which are randomly selectedbased on a particular weighting system. Within this embodiment, itshould be appreciated that a buyer may own multiple copies of the samedigital trading card. In these cases, the buyer's on-line portfoliowould display multiple owned copies of the same digital trading card.The owner may then offer to sell or trade these excess cards to anotherbuyer, put these cards up for auction via an auction website 50, orsimply keep the multiple copies of that particular card (perhaps withaspirations that the card will appreciate in value).

The digital trading cards may also be used as part of a multi-playergame that is accessible via a game server. The digital trading cards maybe “won” or “lost” throughout the course of a particular game. Withinthe context of such games, it is well known that certain game cards canbe played versus other game cards in order to win ownership of thatparticular card. In an embodiment of this invention, these games may beplayed over the Internet 20 where the virtual ownership of these cardsis managed by the merchant computer system 10 as dictated by the courseof the game. It should be appreciated that the transfer of ownershipassociated with “winning” or “losing” a particular card would beanalogous to the procedure for the sale or trade of a virtual propertypreviously described in the flow chart of FIG. 3. It should be furtherappreciated that in this type of embodiment, a merchant computer system10 will determine the confirmation of a particular game card transaction(i.e., the winning or losing of a card) at step 245 of FIG. 3 accordingto the rules and restrictions of the game being played.

In another embodiment, virtual movies, having no physical counterpart,may be 11 managed by a particular merchant via the Internet 20. Withinthis embodiment, virtual movies may be viewed by the user 30 usingsoftware residing on the merchant computer system 10 through the user'sWeb browser application 32. In order to purchase a virtual movie,prospective users 30 would access their accounts with the merchantcomputer system 10. Rather than requiring the virtual movie to bedownloaded to the user's computer 30, the merchant would provide theuser with an access code used to verify the identity of the user. Fromthat point forward, the user would be the owner of the virtual movie andwould thus have all rights of ownership to that virtual movie, includingthe right to resell its ownership to another party.

Sale of ownership could entail a simple transaction, such astransferring the proof of ownership codes to the buyer, or it can entaila more elaborate transaction, such as transfer of ownership codes, andthe registration of such transfer with the merchant. New ownership codescould be distributed in an automated fashion to the new owner, whichtransaction could effect the deactivation of old codes.

Having thus described a preferred embodiment of a method and apparatusfor managing ownership of virtual property, it should be apparent tothose skilled in the art that certain advantages of the within systemhave been achieved. It should also be appreciated that variousmodifications, adaptations, and alternative embodiments thereof may bemade within the scope and spirit of the present invention. The inventionis further defined by the following claims.

1. A computerized method of managing virtual properties, the methodcomprising: maintaining on one or more storage devices a data structureindicating ownership of respective virtual properties, wherein ownershipof a virtual property allows a respective owner to use the virtualproperty in one or more networked computer games; receiving a virtualproperty transfer indication indicating that a first virtual propertywas won by a first owner from a second owner in one of the networkedcomputer games; and in response to receiving the virtual propertytransfer indication, updating the data structure to indicate that thefirst owner is the owner of the first virtual property and that thesecond owner is not the owner of the first virtual property so that thefirst owner is allowed to use the virtual property in the one or morenetworked computer games and the second owner is not allowed to use thevirtual property in the one or more networked computer games, wherein atleast some of the method is performed by a computing system having oneor more computing devices.
 2. The computerized method of claim 1,wherein the virtual property comprises a weapon or a key that is usablein one or more of the networked computer games.
 3. The computerizedmethod of claim 1, wherein said maintaining is performed by an entitythat is different than an entity that provides the one or more networkedcomputer games.
 4. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein thevirtual property transfer indication is received from a computer serverthat at least partially manages one or more of the networked computergames.
 5. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein a first of the oneor more storage devices is maintained by a first entity and a second ofthe one or more storage devices is maintained by a second entity,wherein the data structure comprises data on each of the first andsecond storage devices.
 6. A computing system for managing virtualproperties, the computing system comprising: a storage device configuredto store a data structure indicating ownership of virtual properties byrespective computer users; a network interface configured to receive anindication of a virtual property transfer from one or more gamingcomputing systems configured to coordinate online games between computerusers, wherein the indication indicates that a first property was won bya first computer user from a second computer user in an online game; andat least one processor configured to execute a software moduleconfigured to update the data structure to indicate that the firstcomputer user is the owner of the first property; and update the datastructure to indicate that the second computer user is not the owner ofthe first property;
 7. The computing system of claim 6, wherein thesoftware module is further configured to: receive queries from computingsystems requesting information regarding ownership of virtual propertiesby the first and/or second user.
 8. The computing system of claim 6,wherein the virtual property comprises a weapon or a key.
 9. A tangiblecomputer readable medium having software instructions stored thereonthat are readable by a computing system comprising one or more computingdevices, wherein the software instructions are executable on thecomputing system in order to cause the computing system to perform amethod comprising: maintaining on one or more storage devices a datastructure indicating ownership of respective virtual properties, whereinownership of a virtual property allows the respective owner to use thevirtual property in one or more networked computer games; receiving avirtual property transfer indication indicating that a first virtualproperty was won by a first owner from a second owner in one of thenetworked computer games; and in response to receiving the virtualproperty transfer indication, updating the data structure to indicatethat the first owner is the owner of the first virtual property and thatthe second owner is not the owner of the first virtual property so thatthe first owner is allowed to use the virtual property in the one ormore networked computer games and the second owner is not allowed to usethe virtual property in the one or more networked computer games.
 10. Acomputerized method of managing access to a software application, themethod comprising: maintaining on one or more storage devices a softwareapplication that is configured for use by one or more users vianetworked communications, wherein the software application is notavailable for download by the one or more users; maintaining a datastructure indicating ownership of the software application by one ormore users; receiving requests for access to the software application byrespective requesting users; and in response to respective requests foraccess to the software application by respective requesting users,accessing the data structure in order to determine if the respectiverequesting user is one of the owners of the software application andallowing the respective user to access the software application only ifthe user is determined to be one of the owners of the softwareapplication, wherein at least some of the method is performed by acomputing system having one or more computing devices.
 11. Thecomputerized method of claim 10, further comprising: receiving asoftware ownership transfer indication indicating that ownership of thesoftware application should be changed from a first user to a seconduser; and in response to receiving the software ownership transferindication, updating the data structure to indicate that the second useris the owner of the software application and that the first user is notthe owner of the software application so that the second user is allowedto access the software application via one or more networked connectionsand the first user is not allowed to access the software application.12. The computerized method of claim 10, wherein the softwareapplication comprises a word processing software application.
 13. Thecomputerized method of claim 10, wherein the software application isaccessed via a web browser.
 14. The computerized method of claim 11,further comprising receiving a second software ownership transferindication indicating that ownership of a second software applicationshould be changed from the second user to the first user such that thefirst and second users trade ownership in the first and second softwareapplications.
 15. The computerized method of claim 11, wherein thesoftware ownership transfer indication is transmitted to the computingsystem in response to verifying a payment from the second user to thefirst user for transfer of ownership of the software application to thesecond user.
 16. A computing system for managing ownership of softwareapplications, the computing system comprising: one or more storagedevices storing a data structure indicating ownership of respectivesoftware applications, wherein the software applications are notavailable for download; a network interface configured to receiveownership transfer indications indicating one or more particularsoftware applications for which ownership is to be transferred from atransferring party to a receiving party; and a processor configured toaccess the ownership transfer indications and, for each ownershiptransfer indication, update the data structure to indicate that thereceiving party is the owner of the one or more particular softwareapplications and that the transferring party is not the owner of the oneor more particular software applications so that the receiving party isallowed to access the one or more particular software applications viaone or more networked connections and the transferring party is notallowed to access the one or more particular software applications. 17.The computing system of claim 16, wherein access to a particularsoftware application comprises accessing features of the particularsoftware application via a web browser without downloading theparticular software application to a computing device on which thefeatures are accessed.
 18. The computing system of claim 16, wherein theownership transfer indication indicates that ownership of a particularsoftware application has been sold from the transferring party to thereceiving party.
 19. The computing system of claim 16, wherein theownership transfer indication indicates that ownership of a particularsoftware application has been traded in exchange for transfer ofownership of one or more other assets from the receiving entity to thetransmitting entity.
 20. The computing system of claim 16, wherein atleast some of the software applications are stored on another computingsystem and are accessible by entities based on respective ownershiprights indicated in the data structure.
 21. A tangible computer readablemedium having software instructions stored thereon that are readable bya computing system comprising one or more computing devices, wherein thesoftware instructions are executable on the computing system in order tocause the computing system to perform a method comprising: receivingrequests for access to respective software applications by respectiverequesting users, wherein access to a particular software applicationincludes access to features of the particular software application anddoes allow downloading of the particular software application; and inresponse to respective requests for access to respective softwareapplication by respective requesting users, accessing a data structurestoring indications of ownership of respective software applications inorder to determine if the respective requesting user owns the softwareapplication; and allowing the respective user to access the respectivesoftware application only if the user is determined to own therespective software application.
 22. The tangible computer readablemedium of claim 21, wherein the features of a first software applicationinclude word processing features that are accessible via a web browser.